


Shocked

by livvy_x



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt, Suicide Attempt, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-28 03:44:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13262940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livvy_x/pseuds/livvy_x
Summary: After the breakup of Jughead and Betty, Black Hood drives Betty over the edge, causing her to risk her life. How does Jughead react? Can he help?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Betty and Jughead had been broken up for three weeks. When Jughead finds out that Betty is currently standing on the ledge of a bride, is he able to keep her from jumping?
> 
> Warning: Mention of attempted suicide

Ever since the day that Betty had broken up with Jughead via Archie, Jughead has been keeping an extremely low profile. He wouldn’t consider himself to be sulking around or anything like that, but that was the way his father, who had been released from jail, classified him— a ‘hardcore sulker.’ Sure, he kept up with what was going on in the Serpents, he went to school, he hung out at the Whyte Wyrm, and all that, but he would normally try to stick to himself. Jughead didn’t go out of his way to talk to his fellow gang members, and he _definitely _did not go out of his way to call up Betty or Archie. Whenever Archie or Veronica or any other people of the group would text to check up on him, which they often did, he would never give them the satisfaction of responding.__

__It had been a whole three weeks since everything went down, and the sting of the breakup still hurt too much for him to get back out there. Even when Toni, who was a beautiful girl, had kissed him right after his Serpents initiation, he pushed it off. No one was like Betty Cooper, but if she didn’t want him, he wasn’t going to try to win her back. He knew she’d toss him to the side one day anyway, so he just had to wait until he got used to the feeling of having her gone._ _

__Right now, Jughead was sitting in the Whyte Wyrm. The place was packed of Serpents, like always. He was sporting a cold ginger ale, and sitting on his usual bar stool. People would come up to him to greet him, but that was all… they knew better than to try and actually converse with him. He was simply a broody, broody boy._ _

__Jughead felt his phone buzzing in his pocket, but ignored it. In all honesty, he didn’t really care who it was. Once it stopped, he pulled it out to see a missed call from Archie. Rolling his eyes, he set the cell phone on the counter of the bar and head into the restroom._ _

__He was only gone for about three minutes, but when he came back and pressed the home button of his cellular device, he saw that it was overflowing with missed calls. Archie had called him five times, Veronica had called him four times, Kevin had called him three times, and Cheryl had called him once. _That’s weird, _he thought. _What would they all be calling me so consistently for? _Normally it was a simple text, but it had never gone this far._____ _

______All of a sudden, his phone started to buzz again. _Incoming Call from Archie Andrews. _Something in him told him that he actually needed to answer him this time. “What do you want, Arch?” Jughead said into the phone. Then he heard crying and screaming in the background, causing a bad feeling to grow inside of his stomach.___ _ _ _ _ _

_________“Put on the fucking news, man. You gotta get here,” _Archie said and then hung up. From the way his voice was all jumbled and frantic, Jughead knew something was up.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Dad,” Jughead called out to FP. “Put the news on real quick,” he requested. The Jones man nodded and did as told, ignoring the complaints of the other Serpents. What he saw was not what he expected… a girl wearing a familiar dress and a nice, tight ponytail standing on the ledge of the Sweetwater bridge, looking like she was about to jump. It wasn’t just any girl though, it was Betty Cooper. Jughead’s face turned white, his mouth went dry, and his muscles tensed up. It was like he was paralyzed, not knowing what the hell was happening. This is what being it meant to be in shock, he guessed. He felt frozen until his dad came over, putting both hands on his shoulders. “Wha—I—Bet—”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________FP shook his son until he was thinking straight again. “You go get your girl, Jug. Take my bike. Go, now,” he ordered his son. It was clear from the look on his face that he, too, was taken aback and frightened by what he saw on the television screen. FP had always liked Betty, so he was a bit saddened when the couple broke up… but he didn’t believe that there was no real reason behind it. “Jughead, go!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jughead coughed out some air and nodded. He grabbed his father’s keys for the motorcycle and ran. Everything went by in as if it was nothing. Houses, buildings, school, everything passed him in a flash. By the time he got to the bridge, he hadn’t really remembered even driving… he was thankful that his subconscious even got him there._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a big huddle towards the edge of the bridge, blocking off what there was to see. He was internally praying that nothing had happened. His heart was pounding in his ears as he bolted through the crowd, not caring that people were telling him off for pushing. Out of luck, he got right to Archie, who was standing there with his father. “What’s she doing? What the fuck is she doing?” Jughead shouted, pulling the redhead along with him through the people._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Jug,” Archie called, but there was no response. He just kept getting dragged. “Jughead!” He pulled on his arm. When his ex-best friend turned around to look at him, he saw the worry and anxiety prominent in his eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Jughead couldn’t be distracted right now. He couldn’t bother listening to whatever he had to say without seeing Betty first. He let go of Archie and pushed through the rest of the crowd. He was breathless and everything felt like a blur until he saw her standing there. She looked like she was in a trance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Betty shifted a little bit, not moving forward, but a bit to the side. That little ounce of movement had Jughead practically running towards her. Sheriff Keller grabbed onto his arms. “Jones. Stop,” he said sternly. “She could jump any minute. We’re trying to do this the without her doing anything stupid. We have it handled,” he said._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I need to talk to her,” Jughead whipped his arm away from the sheriff, making his way closer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Sheriff Keller tried to go after him again, but his son, Kevin told him to stop. “He might be able to help, Dad. Sh-she might listen— she might actually hear him,” he said. Sheriff Keller looked back at his son, seeing him and all his friends with tears falling down their faces. They seemed to agree with what he was saying. Kevin let out a breath of relief then as his father stepped back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Betty,” Jughead said in a quiet, fearful voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Jughead. Polly. Veronica. Archie. Jughead. Polly. Veronica. Archie,” Betty repeated the names, standing there with a blank look on her face. “I’m the one he wants. Me. He wants me. If I leave, they’ll be okay. They’ll all be okay. I need to leave. I need to leave.” Her voice was low, barely audible to the boy’s ear. “Jughead. Polly. Veronica. Archie.” She kept saying those sets of words over and over again, like she had rehearsed it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________There was a lot that he could be thinking right now, but at the moment, Jughead’s only focus was getting her off that ledge. Cautiously stepping forward, he whispered, “Betty,” once more in an incredibly soft voice. The words that she had been saying just kept coming in replay, like she had no clue he was there. “Betty, please,” he said a little bit louder, but with a crack in her name, showing how much the sight of this hurt him. _The third time’s the charm. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Abruptly, Betty stopped repeating those jumbles of words and names. Her breath hitched. Slowly, she turned her head to the side, meeting her eyes with Jughead. Now that he was seeing her face, he saw how unhealthy she looked. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her face was unusually pale and skinny. “He wants me,” she whispered back, her blank face still there. Her eyes were glossy, but not filled with tears, moreso looking like sleep deprivation. “I don’t talk to you anymore. I followed the rules,” she recalled. “But since I still love you, he wants to hurt you. He wants to hurt all of you and have me to himself. I need to leave, Juggie,” she said in an eerie voice. “I wore the dress I wore to homecoming with you so you can bury me in it. If he’s at my funeral, kill him,” she said. The way her voice sounded sent chills down Jughead’s spine… it was like Betty wasn’t Betty. He was still walking forward as she finished up what she was saying, and then before any reaction could come, she stepped forward._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Betty, no!” Jughead screamed, reaching for her. It was too late though. She had jumped._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the breakup of Jughead and Betty, Black Hood drives Betty over the edge, causing her to risk her life. How does Jughead react? Can he help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Betty’s jump. Does she live? If so, how does Jughead respond?

“Call an ambulance!” Someone shrieked. “Is there any chance that she lived?” The screaming and crying of the Riverdale residents were so loud that it was ringing in Jughead’s ears. He was frozen though… in shock again.

He didn’t notice that Archie was in front of him until both of the boy’s hands were grabbing onto the leather jacket that he was wearing, shaking him. “Snap out of it, man,” he kept saying, tears coming down his face. When Jughead looked at him in acknowledgment, Archie kept speaking. “They’re saying she could’ve survived the impact. We gotta get to the hospital.” Jughead nodded and let his friend help him to Mr. Andrews car.

Again, the ride there went by in a blur. All that was going through his mind was a replay of Betty taking that leap. When it happened, it felt like it was in slow motion, coming straight from a movie scene. Anger, guilt, pain, sadness… it was all building up in him, so slowly that he didn’t even realize it was deteriorating the initial shock of seeing her jump. The other emotion Jughead was feeling was hope. God, did he hope that she wasn’t dead. He was pleading with the god or gods above for that… whatever would grant this wish, he was praying to that.

Once at the hospital, everything in Jughead went up in a flare. Seeing Alice, Hal, and Polly sitting in the waiting room with tears running down their cheeks made his chest tighten. “Jug,” Archie said. “Betty hasn’t been good—”

He exploded. “Why didn’t you tell me that when it started!” Jughead pushed the redhead in the chest. “You should’ve fucking came to me… you should’ve called, left a voicemail, anything!” He pushed him again through the shouts. Archie was taking everything Jughead gave to him, so the boy didn’t stop. While all of this was going on, Cheryl, Kev, and Veronica walked into the waiting area, but Jughead didn’t even see them. “It’s fucked up. You could’ve helped her. V could’ve. We could’ve—” He kept pushing until strong arms were pulling him away.

“Calm down, son.” It was his father. “Calm down,” he repeated, holding him in place. Fred must’ve called him to tell him where they were, that was the only explanation as to how he was there right now.

“She jumped,” Jughead mumbled into his dad’s arm, which was still covering most of his face. “She jumped,” he repeated, more breathlessly this time. Then he broke down. It was so unlike him, but everything about this was unordinary. Jughead had never cried in front of anyone, but here he was, bawling in his father’s arms. He couldn’t imagine a world without Betty Cooper, but truthfully, no one could.

Seeing Jughead like this made Alice and Polly start to cry even harder. Cheryl, Kevin, and Veronica were sobbing as well. They all knew how much Betty loved him, so when the two split, it was surely confusing. And though Alice had shown how much she opposed them being together, she was secretly glad that her daughter had someone that loved her. After seeing him cry like this though, she felt bad for ever doubting the relationship.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cooper?” A doctor called, frowning at the scene of how broken everyone seemed. Betty’s parents jumped up after hearing their names. “She’s breathing,” he said, walking towards them. “She has a broken femur on the right side. Also, a slight concussion. Because of the lack of oxygen she had for so long in the water and the way she hit her head, we don’t know how long it will be until she wakes up. Overall, Betty should be okay,” Dr. Mendes told them. Everyone let out a relieved sound. “You can go back and see her. Family only right now.”

Hal nodded and started towards the room. “Wait,” Polly called and her father stopped. She turned around to where the Jones’ were. “Jughead, come with us,” she said softly. “He’s her family.”

This took Jughead aback. Then all of a sudden, his father and Veronica were pushing him forward to go along. He sniffed and wiped some tears with the sleeve of his leather jacket, meeting eyes with Alice to see what she had to say. When the mother nodded, Jughead whispered, “Okay,” and moved along.

The second they walked in the room, Jughead promised himself that he would never let this girl leave him again. He was going to sit her until she woke up, and never leave her alone again.

* * *

Three days passed and Betty still wasn’t awake. Jughead refused to leave her side. He had been sitting with the chair as close as it could get to the bed, holding her hand for three whole days. Whenever a staff member would enter, he’d ask if it was normal that she still wasn’t awake, and they always reassured him that she’d be alright.

Over this timespan, her family had been there with him most of the time. The second day, Veronica and Archie stayed there from opening to closing. Kevin was there a lot as well, along with Cheryl. Everyone tried getting Jughead to go home, just for a shower, but he refused. They tried to get him to sleep, but he also refused that.

Currently, the boy was the only one there with her. As he held Betty’s hand, he rested his chin on the bedside, looking up at her. Guilt burned in his veins. He still didn’t know exactly what was going on that caused her to do this, but he had an idea. He felt like if he would’ve tried to stick around and fight for her, all of this could’ve been avoided… like he could’ve protected her.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Someone peered through the door, saying, “Jug?” He didn’t have to turn around to know it was Toni. “Fangs and I came to give you clothes. You’ve been here for three days straight…”

“Yeah. Thanks,” Jughead muttered, not even bothering to turn around.

“How’s she doing?” Fangs asked, sounding honestly concerned. Normally, it was odd for a Serpent to outwardly show sympathy and emotion, but this was an exception.

Jughead sighed. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Still not awake.” He paused, rubbing Betty’s hand with his thumb. “Watch her wake up and not even want me here,” he said painfully, showing he had thought about this already.

Toni smacked him in the head. “Don’t be an idiot,” she spat. “Stay. Do what you need to do. Get your fucking girl back,” she said sternly. The support was actually appreciated. Before Jughead could thank her though, Toni spoke again. “We can’t stick around, and I’m sure no one wants us too. Tell her the Serpents are thinking of her, alright? Your dad’s worried.” She and Fangs started to walk towards the door. “See you on the flip side,” she said, exiting. Jughead simply nodded as a goodbye.

Toni’s words stuck in his head. _‘Do what you need to do.’ ‘Get your fucking girl back.’ _They stuck because he did need to do something. Sure, that thought of her being unhappy to see him was still there, but he needed her to know how he felt… he couldn’t leave.__

__After so long of just watching her chest rise and fall with each breath, Jughead felt the hand that he was holding twitch. He gasped, sitting up right to look at her face. Betty’s eyes were fluttering. “Betty,” he whispered. She clearly heard it because she let out a little sound of confusion. “Oh, my god.” He stood up, unleashing her hand. Jughead leaned over her, wiping her hair out of her face as she opened her eyes. “Hi, Betts,” he said softly as she looked at him._ _

__“Jug,” Betty said, clearly showing that her throat was dry. Her eyes looked bewildered. “What happened?” She asked, and the boy realized that she really had no clue._ _

__Jughead gulped. He kissed her forehead, and caressed her cheek as he looked at her. “A lot,” he responded. “I gotta get a doctor in here, okay?” With that, a doctor came in and went over everything. As Dr. Mendes spoke, it was clear that Betty’s memories were creeping back into her mind, and though it was sad that she had to relive that, Jughead was relieved._ _

__Once the doctor left, the Cooper family filed in. They let and helped Betty adjust to being awake, filling her in on the past three days. A few tears were shed, but everyone tried to be composed. Her friends came in too eventually, hugging her and crying in joy to see her in a responsive state. Jughead stood there, watching closely the whole time, waiting to go last when they were alone._ _

__At some point, when Betty was fully conscious and of soundmind, everyone left. Jughead sat on the bedside. He let out a shaky breath. “Fuck.” He shoved his face into his hands. “You scared the shit out of me,” he muttered, digging the balls of his palms into his eyes to fight tears. “You have no clue what that was like… thinking you were gone for good,” he mumbled._ _

__Betty frowned, resting a hand on Jughead’s back. “I’m sorry,” she choked out, “ for everything.” Her heart was aching, thinking about what she must’ve put him through since the breakup (and now especially)._ _

__A sob came out from Jughead’s throat. “You can’t ever try anything like that again, okay? Even if you don’t love me, if you’ve moved on, whatever… if you _ever, _think about doing something like that again, you need to call me.” His face was still in his hands, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to bare looking at her right now.___ _

____A tear fell from Betty’s eye. She put her head back on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling. “I didn’t end things because I stopped loving you. I’ll always love you,” she said, breathing out. “There’s a reason behind all of it, Jug.”_ _ _ _

____They could deal with the love matter later, but right now, Jughead needed to know why she did what she did. “Why did you jump?” His voice was full of more pain than Betty has ever heard._ _ _ _

____“I just I had enough. I couldn’t take it anymore. He drove me over the edge,” she forced herself to say, struggling with every word._ _ _ _

____Finally turning to her, Jughead looked at her through watery eyes. “Explain it to me. Who is _he _?”___ _ _ _

______Betty chuckled. “Black Hood, Jug. He was forcing me to do be loyal to him. He wants me to be his, and only his. First it was simple, all I had to do was cut off ties with everyone,” she explained. “Then it got worse. He knew what _my heart _wanted. You. V. Archie. My family. Everyone I love, he said he wanted dead,” she sniffed, shaking her head. “That morning, it was horrible. I hadn’t slept for four days… probably only drank two cups of water in that timespan as well. I started going insane— writing notes, ideas, anything to get rid of him. The only way to lose him was to get out of this world completely,” she said, tears welling. “But here I am… and he’ll be back. He’s going to start killing again,” she said, knowing that that would be his next move. “Why I did it though? When I say I went over the edge, I mean it. I remember it all, but Juggie, that wasn’t me. He actually drove me insane,” she cried.___ _ _ _ _ _

________Jughead was looking at Betty now, his heart feeling like it was getting stabbed with every word. He was about to flip out hearing all about the Black Hood targeting her like that, but he knew she wasn’t in any shape to handle that. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he whispered. Betty opposed that. “You gotta talk to Sheriff Keller now though, Betty. You can’t handle this on your own, okay? Not anymore.” Betty gulped and nodded. “I don’t ever want to get that close to losing you again,” he said softly, squeezing her hand._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“C’mere,” Betty whispered. “Just hold me for a while.” Jughead complied, laying down next to her and gathering her into his arms, making sure not to hurt her leg. Betty nuzzled into him, feeling a sense of relief being that she finally got to feel this again. She had missed it so much, and so did her. “Just don’t let go.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I won’t,” Jughead promised, kissing the top of her head. They were going to figure everything out eventually, but for now, he was just going to hold her as tight as possible. “I love you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
